Conventionally, there have been provided illumination control systems to which human detection technique and brightness detection technique using image sensors such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) is applied (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-289377 (JP2002-289377A), paragraphs [0034] to [0038] and FIGS. 1 to 3). Such an illumination control system includes a TV camera as a brightness detection sensor, an operation control device implemented as a PC terminal or the like, and a plurality of illumination apparatuses in which outputs from light sources are automatically controlled in response to a dimming signal that is outputted based on image data inputted to the operation control device.
This illumination control system captures an image of an illuminated space by using the TV camera, segments the captured image into a plurality of areas and detects the presence or absence of a person in each segmented area, thus performing an illumination control.
Although the illumination control system disclosed in JP2002-289377A performs the illumination control by detecting the presence or absence of a person in each segmented area, there is no relationship between each segmented area and a range of illumination provided by each illumination apparatus, and thus a suitable illumination environment cannot be necessarily created.